The Exotic Beauty Of Hummingbird Clearwing Moths

Have you ever done a double take when you're out in the garden admiring your honeysuckles and a quick-flying creature came up to suck the nectar? If it was too small to be a hummingbird and had tell-tale antennae, you may have seen a common clearwing moth.

Common clearwing moths (Hemaris thysbe) are both beautiful and bird-like, but despite all appearances to the contrary, they are bugs. These unusual moths are about 1.5 inches long, and they can be found in gardens and nectar-bearing bushes from central and eastern USA, all the way up to Alaska.